The present invention relates to a front, or cap, for a fireplace, and more particularly to such a cap with a preheated secondary air supply.
Fireplace fronts, or caps, have heretofore been known. One such device is produced by Mt. Vernon Fireplaces, Inc. and has a front plate for covering a fireplace opening to which a pair of hinged doors are mounted. Glass panels are included in the doors to enable the user to view the fire within the fireplace after the device is installed. In addition, fireplace caps as described in the aforementioned application Ser. No. 452,025 of Scheler have been sold for more than one year prior to the filing date of the present application. This prior Scheler application also discloses a cap with hinged doors and which covers a fireplace opening.
Neither of these two caps are understood to provide secondary air, let alone preheated secondary air, to a fire within a firebox of a fireplace. In addition, neither of these devices are understood to control the flow of combustion air from outside the heated interior of a building to the firebox of the fireplace.
Another example of a fireplace front is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,459,173 of Lydle. In Lydle, air enters a chamber along the lower edge of the front. This air flows upwardly through flutes and along the back of glass doors of the front. As air passes along the glass, it sweeps the glass and cools it. A controller near the top of the Lydle front controls the flow of air into this lower chamber. Air entering the Lydle chamber is preheated somewhat before entering the firebox of a fireplace. However, Lydle is not understood to provide a secondary source of combustion air as all air supplied to the fireplace is understood to come from this lower chamber.
Although not a fireplace front, woodstoves are known which introduce combustion air into a chamber located in an upper front region of the stove and extending transversely between the sides of the stoves. One such stove is sold under the trademark KENT and has a chamber which is slotted along the length of its lower region. This permits the passage of air downwardly from the chamber and along the doors of the stove. This air then passes to fuel which is burning within the stove. In the KENT construction the chamber is formed of metal walls of uniform thickness throughout. Also, all combustion air for the KENT stove is understood to enter the firebox through this chamber.
Although these prior designs exist, there is nevertheless a need for an improved fireplace front which enhances the performance of the fireplace to which the front is mounted by introducing preheated secondary combustion air to the firebox of the fireplace.